Conditions Report
Trip Report
The Chutes at Mt. Rose ski resort in Nevada were a forbidden fruit of Lake Tahoe for many years. The Chutes first opened in December 2004 and people were fired up. The Chutes gave Mt. Rose some of the steepest, consistent terrain in Tahoe. Before the Chutes opened they were most often skied before Rose opened or after they closed.
Mt. Rose closed a couple of weeks ago but backcountry access is legal when the resort isn’t operating. After the closing of Squaw Valley yesterday, a friend and I decided to head down to Mammoth the Eastern Sierra today.
On our way over Mt. Rose Highway this morning, we saw the Chutes and couldn’t resist. We parked in the upper lot, skinned to the top of the Chutes in about 40 minutes, and dropped in.
We chose an untracked chute named Detonator. The upper part of the chute had good powder snow, the middle had a nasty wind/sun board, and the lower chute has great sun cooked pow.
The best thing about The Chutes is that they’re steep, long, and consistent. Sluff comes down all around you as you’re skiing down which is something we don’t deal with a lot here in Tahoe.
The runout to the road wasn’t too bad. We ended up skiing, with a very little bit of walking over dirt and rocks, right to the base of the Chuter chair and hitch hiking back up to our car.
It was an extremely smooth lap that left us back at the car an hour and thirty minutes after leaving it.
I recommend The Chutes at Mt. Rose right now, but the lower section will be melting out quick. Sooner is better than later.
Miles, you follow you Chutes article with a link to the “ten most intense runs [in the US]” but neglect to list a single Chute? Come on guys. Which runs on your top ten were more intense than Detonator? It’s about time Rose and The Chutes get their due recognition. Listing East Coast runs too? Exactly ZERO east coast runs make top ten… not if you include multiple runs per resort (if legit). There are other runs at Squaw and Jackson besides the fingers and Corbet’s that are far more intense than anything onnthe east coast.
eat, sleep, ski and nothing else matters…! well done guys
Great Photos!!
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